Disclosed are pharmaceutical dosage unit manufacturing process control apparatus and methods. These can include acquiring a plurality of multi-pixel images of a flow of pharmaceutical dosage units at different wavelengths along an axis that is perpendicular to a direction of the flow of pharmaceutical dosage units, processing the images acquired in the step of acquiring, and providing an indication about the flow of pharmaceutical dosage units based on the step of processing.
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1. A two-dimensional imaging optical instrument for acquiring images of a two-dimensional sample area, comprising:
a two-dimensional spatial detector having detector elements aligned along a first axis and a second axis,
a two-dimensional variable filter having filter characteristics that vary in at least one dimension, and being located in an optical path between the two-dimensional sample area and the two-dimensional spatial detector,
wherein the instrument defines the optical path as a two-dimensional optical path that simultaneously conveys radiation from different positions in the sample area to different detector elements through portions of the spatial detector having different ones of the filter characteristics to produce variably filtered images, and
a spectral processor operative to combine spectral information from a plurality of the variably filtered two-dimensional images obtained from the two-dimensional spatial detector as the two-dimensional sample area moves with respect to the instrument.
18. An optical method, comprising:
substantially simultaneously filtering a plurality of radiation beam portions from a first set of different positions in a sample area with different filter characteristics,
substantially simultaneously detecting the plurality of radiation beam portions with different parts of a spatial detector after filtering the radiation beam portions in the step of filtering to detect a first variably filtered image,
moving the sample area,
after the step of moving, again substantially simultaneously filtering a plurality of radiation beam portions from a second set of positions in the sample area with different filter characteristics, wherein the first set of positions is different from the second set of positions,
again substantially simultaneously detecting the plurality of radiation beam portions with different parts of the spatial detector after filtering the radiation beam portions in the step of again filtering to detect a second variably filtered image, and
combining results of the steps of simultaneously detecting and again simultaneously detecting.
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This application is a continuation of Application Ser. No. 09/507,293, filed Feb. 18, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,464, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60/120,859, filed Feb. 19, 1999, and 60/143,801, filed Jul. 14, 1999, which are all herein incorporated by reference.
This application also relates to subject matter described in copending application Ser. No. 09/353,325, filed July 14, 1999, entitled “High-Throughput Infrared Spectrometry,” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,112 and herein incorporated by reference.
This invention pertains to quality control systems and methods that detect process defects in large-scale manufacturing processes, such as the manufacture of pharmaceutical dosage units, using continuous spectral imaging techniques.
Defects in pharmaceutical products can be highly dangerous, or even fatal. And even if such defects are relatively minor, such as non-uniformly sized capsules, they can result in a significant loss of goodwill by the manufacturer. It is therefore of the utmost importance to avoid such defects.
Several approaches now exist to screen pharmaceutical agents packaged in predetermined dosage units, such as capsules or tablets. These include off-line and on-line methods. Off-line methods include the testing of samples of reagents and end-products using various analytical methods. On-line methods attempt to monitor the process of manufacturing the product to detect defects as they occur.
A number of on-line screening approaches currently exist. One approach includes adding coloring agents to bulk ingredients and optically checking the shape, integrity, and color of the final product. Systems employing this approach can take a series of video images of dosage units and use image processing methods to assess the shape and color of the dosage units. Other systems employ groups of discrete optical detectors to detect different colors and infrared detectors to detect the scattering caused by structural defects. These systems can be complicated to install and maintain, and cannot guarantee a defect-free product.
Several aspects of the invention are presented in this application. These relate to improvements to process control apparatus and methods, including apparatus and methods that detect process defects in large-scale manufacturing processes, such as the manufacture of pharmaceutical dosage units, using continuous spectral imaging techniques.
Systems according to the invention are advantageous in that they can continuously test the actual composition of each dosage unit within its packaging. Such systems can therefore screen for errors in coloring of ingredients, for contamination or breakdown that occurs independent of coloring, and for other types of errors that might not otherwise be detected. And because systems according to the invention can perform their composition measurements through the end-user package walls, they can detect contamination or damage that occurs during packaging.
Performing composition analysis by comparing spectral information with libraries of known spectral signatures, allows small concentrations of potentially dangerous contaminants, such as potent toxins, to be detected. Without being correlated to a specific spectral signature, such small concentrations might have little effect on prior art process monitoring methods, and might therefore be dismissed as within an error margin.
Performing composition analysis by comparing spectral information with libraries of known spectral signatures may also allow for the detection of unexpected components. Comparing acquired spectral information with libraries of components may uncover contaminants not normally associated with the process. This may allow a manufacturer to avert hazards that arise out of unforseen circumstances, such as supplier errors or deliberate tampering.
Performing composition analysis by comparing spectral information with libraries of known spectral signatures may further allow for the detection of subtle shifts in the process. Because relative quantities of ingredients can be directly measured, a change in the ratio of these ingredients can be detected. While such changes may not warrant rejection of the products, they may allow the process to be optimized and prevent the process from drifting out of its intending operating range.
Systems according to the invention may also be advantageous in that they can allow a process engineer to select optimal process variables to monitor. By mapping selected spectral information into an image, which is then processed by an image processor, systems according to the invention can apply the image processing resources to the spectral data that correlates best to known and predicted failure modes. And because the system acquires information about a large number of wavelengths simultaneously, a system operator can try a number of different approaches to achieve the best results.
In the figures, like reference numbers represent like elements.
Referring to
Referring to
The system also includes an image acquisition interface 22 having an input port responsive to an output port of the image sensor 10. The image acquisition interface receives and/or formats image signals from the image sensor. It can include an off-the shelf frame buffer card with a 12-16 bit dynamic range, such as are available from Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. of Montreal, Canada, and Dipix Technologies, of Ottawa, Canada.
A spectral processor 26 has an input responsive to the image acquisition interface 22. This spectral processor has a control output provided to a source control interface 20, which can power and control an illumination source 14. The illumination source for near infrared measurements is preferably a Quartz-Tungsten-Halide lamp.
The spectral processor 26 is also operatively connected to a standard input/output (IO) interface 30 and to a local spectral library 24. The local spectral library includes locally-stored spectral signatures for known process components. These components can include ingredients, process products, or results of process defects or contamination. The IO interface can also operatively connect the spectral processor to a remote spectral library 28.
The spectral processor 26 is operatively connected to an image processor 32 as well. The image processor can be an off-the-shelf programmable industrial image processor, that includes special-purpose image processing hardware and image evaluation routines that are operative to evaluate shapes and colors of manufactured objects in industrial environments. Such systems are available from, for example, Cognex, Inc.
In one embodiment, the system is based on the so-called IBM-PC architecture. The image acquisition interface 22, IO interface 30, and image processor 32 each occupy expansion slots on the system bus. The spectral processor is implemented using special-purpose spectral processing routines loaded on the host processor, and the local spectral library is stored in local mass storage, such as disk storage. Of course, other structures can be used to implement systems according to the invention, including various combinations of dedicated hardware and special-purpose software running on general-purpose hardware. In addition, the various elements and steps described can be reorganized, divided, and combined in different ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, many of the separate operations described above can be performed simultaneously according to well-known pipelining and parallel processing principles.
In operation, referring to
At a predetermined repetition rate, the image acquisition interface 22 acquires a data set representative of the radiation incident on the image sensor (i.e., a spectral line image—step 40). This data set includes image values for each of the pixels along the imaged line on the process web at a number of different wavelengths. In the case of a 256×256 array, intensity values at 256 different wavelengths will be stored for each of 256 points on the imaged line. Once it has been acquired, the image acquisition interface transfers this data set to the spectral processor 26.
The spectral processor 26 then evaluates the acquired spectral line image (step 42). This evaluation can include a variety of univariate and multivariate spectral manipulations. These can include comparing received spectral information with spectral signatures stored in the library, comparing received spectral information attributable to manufactured dosage units with information attributable to the reference sample, or evaluating simplified test functions, such as looking for the absence of a particular wavelength or combination of wavelengths. Multivariate spectral manipulations are discussed in more detail in “Multivariate Image Analysis,” by Paul Geladi and Hans, Grahn, available from John Wiley, ISBN No. 0-471-93001-6, which is herein incorporated by reference.
As a result of its evaluation, the spectral processor 26 may detect known components (step 44) and/or unknown components (step 46). If an unknown component is detected, the system records a spectral signature entry for the new component type in the local spectral library 24 (step 48). The system can also attempt to identify the newly detected component in an extended or remote library 28, such as by accessing it through a telephone line or computer network (step 50). The system then flags the detection of the new component to the system operator, and reports any retrieved candidate identities (step 52).
Once component identification is complete, the system maps the different detected components into a color (such as grayscale) line image (step 54). As the system processes further spectral line images, it accumulates a two-dimensional colored image frame. When complete, this image can be transferred to the image processor (step 58), which evaluates the shape and color of the dosage units (step 60), issues rejection signals for rejected dosage units, and compiles operation logs.
As shown in
While the system can operate in real-time to detect defective products, its results can also be analyzed further off-line. For example, some or all of the spectral data sets, or running averages derived from these data sets can be stored and periodically compared with extensive off-line databases of spectral signatures to detect possible new contaminants. Relative spectral intensities arising from relative amounts of reagents or ingredients can also be computed to determine if the process is optimally adjusted.
Note that the system presented above is self-scanning. Although it can be synchronized with the process by a sensor, such synchronization is not required. The system can therefore be easily retrofit to existing installations and does not require any moving parts.
The acquisition method employed by the process control system can also be computationally efficient. Since data is acquired and spectrally processed on a line-by-line basis, the spectral processor does not have to store large amounts of intermediate results. Once a line has been mapped to a colored line image, all of the acquired data and intermediate results can be discarded, and a new line processed. This can allow the system to operate in real time with relatively simple computer components, keeping the overall system cost low.
Referring to
In operation of this embodiment, acquisition interface 22 acquires data representing a series of variably-filtered, two-dimensional images. These two-dimensional images each include image values for the pixels in a series of adjacent lines perpendicular to the process web. Because of the action of the variable-bandpass filter, the detected line images that make up each two-dimensional image will have a spectral content that varies along the process direction.
The variably filtered images are combined as they are acquired in order to obtain full-range spectral images. As each imaged line progresses along the web, each successive line (N1 . . . A1) of elements in the array sensor 10 will sense radiation that has been filtered through a corresponding line (N . . . A) of the filter. These individual line images can be assembled to create a full-spectrum line image. The assembly can take place by itself, or in combination with other operations, such as digital filtering operations. This embodiment is particularly advantageous because the variable-bandpass filter is relatively inexpensive and robust.
Another approach involves the use of an optical system that simultaneously projects a number of spectrally-discrete versions of the same two-dimensional image onto the array sensor 10. Such systems are described in PCT application No. PCT/US98/14218 published under No. WO09902950, which are herein incorporated by reference. The use of these systems is advantageous in that they allow high data throughputs for a given web speed, without adding moving parts. Systems of this type are available from Optical Insights, Inc of Tucson, Ariz.
A further embodiment employs multi-source arrays to provide successive illumination at different wavelengths and thereby obtain spectral information from the process. Such arrays are described in a copending provisional application entitled “Multi-Source Arrays,” filed on the same day as this application, and herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention has now been described in connection with a number of specific embodiments thereof. However, numerous modifications which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention should now be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, aspects of the invention may also be applicable to other types of manufacturing processes, such in detecting the presence of undesirable by-products in the manufacture of plastic articles. In addition, while a two-dimensional image sensor with a dispersive or graded spectrally selective element is at present contemplated to be the best approach to acquiring line image data, a one-dimensional image sensor coupled with a high-speed filtering system might allow a suitable amount of data to be acquired in some circumstances. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto. In addition, the order of presentation of the claims should not be construed to limit the scope of any particular term in the claims.
Lewis, E. Neil, Strachan, David J., Kidder, Linda H.
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